The Kiss
by glambertcello
Summary: Call me weird, but this came to mind while I was watching the Avengers for the second time. Steve is so freaked out when Tony almost dies, that he kisses him without thinking. Stony fic. I do not own any of the characters of the Avengers. Oneshot


Steve looked up from where he laid on the ground, breathing heavily from all the fighting. Blinking, he tried to figure out how he had survived that. _The man had been about to kill me_, he remembered, finding it odd that what happened a moment ago was a little blurry in his memory. _How did I get away?_

His answer was lying on the other side of the ruined platform, on top of Loki's minion and in a red suit of metal.

Frantically, Steve scrambled to his feet. _Oh dear God, please let him be okay,_ Steve begged, not sure why he was freaking out. Tony was a tough, stubborn-as-hell man wearing weapon of mass destruction, which he so often bragged about. But, the man had taken a beating. When Steve reached him, he noted the dings and dents in the suit. _The man of iron has taken a beating. And all because I didn't pull that damn lever fast enough._

Steve tried to convince himself that it wasn't his fault; he'd been holding on for dear life only a couple minutes ago, gripping a wire as he was suspended in air. He'd barely been able to make it back to the platform without falling to his death thousands of feet below. _I could've died._

_And he could've too._

Tapping the side of Ironman's helmet, Steve asked, "Stark?" Unsure if he could hear, he knocked on the side of it, as if it was some kind of metal door. "Can you hear me, Stark?"

Although Steve was Captain America, a man who had been preserved in ice from the Second World War, and who had superhuman strength, he still jumped when the helmet swung back on itself, uncovering Tony's face. _You've got to get used to the new technology, Steve,_ he told himself, trying to not seem jumpy. From what the super soldier could tell, his comrade appeared to be fine, if not a little shaken. And he didn't blame him; the man had just survived a run-in with something that looked like a giant fan. He could've been smashed like a fly. Tony Stark was lucky to be laying before him.

"Yes, I can hear you," Tony snapped, trying to pull himself off the ground. "I can hear everything that is going on, thank you very much."

Steve got to his feet, and helped pull Tony up. He could tell his S.H.I.E.L.D. partner was not too pleased that he had to receive help, but was surprised when he didn't immediately object. Before he could, Steve asked, "You okay?"

Letting out a loud sigh, Tony nodded. "Yes, barely," he admitted.

"Me too." Steve bit his lip, feeling extremely guilty for his inability to fight off several men and operate a lever at the same time. "I would've pulled it when you said, but-"

"No need for apologies, Captain," Tony cut in. "You were occupied." To himself, he muttered something that sounded like, "Felt like I was a pinball," but Steve could've misheard. No, he was too distracted; he probably did misunderstand.

Instead, his thoughts were full of a strange… _feeling_, I guess would be the word. No, more like an urge, he decided.

He acted on his instinct.

Before Tony could have a chance to close his helmet back on himself, Steve placed his hand on his iron shoulder, pulling Ironman towards himself. Tony didn't have a chance to protest before Steve forced his lips onto his. It was a fast kiss, nothing that should have been meaningful to a couple.

But, they weren't a couple. And it shook both of their worlds.

Breaking off the kiss, Steve suddenly began to panic. It was very unlike him, since he had remained relatively calm this whole time. Even when his only touch on the ship was his hands gripping a wire that could break at any moment, he had been at peace. It was odd, because World War Two had been… _rough_ would be an understatement. Devastating, perhaps. It had caused many nightmares in the man representing the United States Army. But, the Captain America that had been revived from the ice had found himself rather calm. Angry at times, but not panicky.

Apparently, all he needed for a freak out session was to kiss a man. And not just any man. A man in a giant metal suit that had guns hidden in it.

But oddly enough, he wasn't so worried about the guns.

"I-I was s-so worried you were… y-you know," the super soldier stuttered out, backpedaling. He had to explain himself. Explain why he was suddenly kissing another man, someone he hadn't thought he would ever be attracted to. _Why the hell did I have to kiss the most stubborn ass I've ever met?_ he asked himself. _Well, other than the warring alien-gods_. Unable to stop himself from talking, he opened his mouth to continue. But, Tony cut him off in the way he least expected.

"Well," he said, cocking his head to the side and giving him a curious look. _Oh God,_ Steve thought, his heart sinking, _he's going to mock me. I never wanted this to happen!_ But, instead, Tony said, "That's something new. I never… Hmm…"

"What?" he found himself demanding, feeling jumpy all over. _God, you can give me another horde of Loki minions, but please, get me away from this._

Tony hesitated before he spoke again. When he did, all he did was murmur, "Just… _hmm…_" And then, he pulled Steve into another kiss, this time more passionate.

And suddenly, everything lost importance to Steve. The battle, the men dead, the others alive, the dead man laying on the floor less than a foot away. It was foolish and kind of selfish, but none of it mattered to Steve in that moment.

Instead, it was the kiss.

Everything was about the kiss.


End file.
